Palm Sunday…what Questions Would You Ask? Series

Palm Sunday Sermon 1..

Palm Sunday…what questions would you ask?

Luke 18:28-48

14th April 2019 Paul Collins.

I have a photo for you to look at and take in…once you have done that, I want to ask you some questions…have a look at this.

What might be some of the questions you would now want to ask me, after looking at this photo of the parade?

- You might ask who the person is that everyone was coming to see?

- What makes them so famous that this crowd would turn out like this?

- Where are they going?

All great questions to ask when looking at something like this. Would you agree? Well today marks the start, of the last week that Jesus would spend with us on this earth, before His ultimate plan was achieved. Today is what we call Palm Sunday.

In Luke 19 it talks about a parade that was to happen - A parade that was prophesied 500 years earlier. If you had seen this parade as you were passing, then I’m sure, you would have had a few questions because there were lots of people watching, people chanting, laying down their coats and palm branches for the star of the parade to pass over

- Who was this parade for?

- What was its purpose?

- Where was it going?

- Why were people throwing coats and palm branches down?

I suspect if you had not known what was happening, then it would have been one of those times where you would have stuck around because of the curiosity that had been birthed in you. Let’s read this story from Scripture and as we do, think about being in the crowd and what questions might you ask…LUKE 19:28-44

If you didn’t know what was happening and you had come into the crowd, what questions would have come to your mind, do you think? …for me, I had heaps:

1) People were not just cheering, they were chanting (v38) - “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” - “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (actually, that’s reminiscent of the Angels chants when He was born) Why were they chanting this…was this really the King?

2) Why were people throwing their cloaks onto the ground?

3) Why were the people throwing Palm leaves of all things onto the road? 4) Why was he riding a donkey and not a horse if he was someone of notoriety?

5) What was the purpose of the parade?

6) Where was it going to?

7) There was some real strange dialogue going on between Jesus and the Pharisee’s…what was that all about? 8) What say you were towards the end of the parade, and you saw Jesus going past…He was crying, wouldn’t that in itself, raise heaps of questions as to why He was crying?

Questions aye…we always seem to always have so many questions…and there’s nothing wrong with that. But as we come into the week leading up to Easter, let’s not leave some of the important questions unanswered. One important question for me that would need to be answered is:

A) Who is this man that’s coming through the crowd on a donkey or colt?

As we look at verses 30-34, it answers that question in two very subtle ways. 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”

Firstly 1) Jesus sends two of His disciples to find transportation. It is actually very specific transportation. Jesus sends these two to find a colt that had never been ridden. Jesus did not own this animal nor did the disciples. The owner might question these two men as they are leading the donkey away. What was to be their answer? “The Lord needs it.” That word ’Lord’ is reserved as a title for God. ’Lord’ is reserved for one who exercises supernatural authority over all of Creation. So, the answer first and foremost is that He was the Son of God. This man on the donkey was God with Us, God in human form. If you had come into the throngs of these people at the parade, so you could see who was coming…could you imagine how you would feel when you heard the guy that was coming on the colt, was the actual Son of the Almighty God!!!